• ESPN and Uninterrupted, the digital media company founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, will debut an original series, More Than An Athlete, Nov. 20, exclusively on ESPN+. The eight-episode series follows James’ journey from basketball prodigy to global sports icon, businessman and philanthropist via the bonds of friendship and partnership among four men over more than two decades: James, Carter, Randy Mims and Rich Paul.

• The NFL and Mexico's President-Elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed that the third game of the existing agreement signed in 2016 will be played in 2019 at Estadio Azteca. The date and time of the game will be determined in conjunction with the release of the 2019 NFL schedule next spring

• NBC Sports and the Premier League are partnering to present their second Premier League Mornings Live, scheduled to take place in New York on Saturday, Dec. 8. The event will include a turf pitch, the Premier League trophy, club mascots and special guests. The initial fan fest in September was attended by more than 2,000 on a rooftop overlooking the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.

• Between now and Nov. 19, every use of #SaluteToService on Twitter will generate a $5 donation, up to $5 million, to the NFL’s military non-profit partners – including the Pat Tillman Foundation, TAPS, USO, Wounded Warrior Project and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

July 12, 2017: People who are following the situation won’t know until the evening of Aug. 26 whether or not the scheduled bout between undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and MMA/UFC specialist Conor McGregor in Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena lived up to the tonnage of pre-fight hype.

But if the opening two rounds of a four-city, three nation, two continent open-to-the-public press tour was a loquacious indication, there should be a lot of jabbing, smacking, eye-balling and face-to-face confrontations.

Mayweather Jr., McGregor and their respective entourages, under the auspices of Showtime, hit the Staples Center on Tuesday to kick off four-day press tour that also will whirlwind its way to Toronto, New York and London.

Ironically, the man who usually has a lot to say, UFC president Dana White, introduced McGregor with about 20 words:

The Notorious Conor then went into victory speech about making his once far-fetched dream of fighting Mayweather Jr. a reality — "Baby We did it . . . 20,000 people (in Staples Center). It’s mind-blowing, I’m absolutely honored to be here" — before going into a diatribe against Mayweather Jr.

Then, getting a bit contrite, Mayweather Jr. said, "I want to thank the MGM Grand. I want to thank Showtime. I want to thank the MMA fans. I want to say thank-you to Conor McGregor and his team. I want to thank Dana White. It takes two warriors to bring an event like this together."

And then it was back to business. "I can give it to him right now but we’re going to save that for the pay day," said Mayweather as White stepped in to put some space between their face-to-face press ender. "I gonna save that for the money."

In Toronto on Wednesday, where some 30,000 fans made their way into Budweiser Stage, the voltage was ramped up even higher.

"(Mayweather's) head is too small. One shot is all it takes me. I'll bounce his head off the canvas. I'll dribble that shit. He never even fought a day in his life. He's boxing's biggest runner and it's biggest bitch."

Among the other repartee between the two BFFs:

• McGregor: "He's 40. Learn to dress your age. You have a school bag on stage. What are you doing with a school bag on stage? You can't even read."

• Mayweather: "They say I was too small, they say I run like a bitch. But G-damn it, 49-0. Yeah m-fer, I run it until the m-fing bank."

• McGregor: "Floyd, you do something with that (Irish) flag (that Mayweather grabbed from a fan in the audience and then draped around his shoulders) and you ain't getting this bag or this money back, and I'm going to f- you up on stage."

• Mayweather: "I'm not phased by this. This doesn't bother me. Like I said, at the end of the day, the fans can't fight for him. I've been through this too many times."

Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY will host Round 3 on Thursday, then it's off to London on Friday for Round 4.